The Serial Killer Letters: A Penetrating Look Inside the Minds of Murderers

For over three years Jennifer Furio, a young mother of two and a Sunday School teacher from Bellingham, Washington, corresponded with some of the most infamous serial killers of our time. While Furio did not intend to write a book when she first started writing to over 50 incarcerated and convicted killers, the responses she received from them were so fascinating and illuminating, she realized that she could not keep them to herself. She saw that these highly candid first-hand accounts revealed more about the inner workings of the minds of these criminals than anything she could say herself. Without question the first book about serial killers that is written by serial killers, this volume offers an entirely unique perspective on this most complex criminal and gives us a rare and intimate look into the minds of men responsible for some of the most heinous serial killings in recent history. This is the first time material of this kind has ever been made available. Each chapter, one for each killer, begins with a brief background and then the letters Furio received are transcribed and reproduced, exactly as they were written--unedited and uncensored. Admittedly, some of this is very chilling and disturbing reading. There are detailed descriptions of the atrocious crimes they committed (or vehemently claim they didn't commit), the depraved and sad lives they lived, their childhoods, their wives, their victims, their sexual preferences. Also included are many rare, never-before-seen crime scene and family photographs, artwork, reproductions of many of the actual letters and poems and other interesting documents. The book includes letters from Randall Woodfield, aka the I-5 killer, Robin Gecht and Edward Spreitzer of the Chicago Rippers, the prophetically named David Gore, Henry Lee Lucas, Harvy Carignan, Lawrence Bittaker, Roy Norris, Harrison T. Graham of Philadelphia, Jeff Libby, Douglas Clark and Bill Suff. The first book to provide case studies of this kind of criminal in the form of personal letters, The Serial Killer Letters is a major and pioneering addition to the psychological literature on serial killers and their crimes. By offering the actual words of the killers themselves, this book offers readers the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about what kind of people these men really are, what makes them tick and what turned them into human killing machines in the first place. In addition to true crime buffs, a wide variety of disciplines and professionals, including psychologists, criminologists, profilers, forensic psychologists, police and corrections personnel, will be grateful to have this unique opportunity to get an inside look at these most complex individuals.

Author: Jennifer Furio
Publisher: Charles Press Pubs(PA)
Published: 10/01/1998
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 9.06h x 5.96w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780914783848

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 11/01/1998 pg. 112
Booklist 12/15/1998 pg. 710